Happy Tree Forest: Origins
by Flaky Ciel
Summary: How did all the wacky inhabitants of Happy Tree Forest get dragged into it, and pick up their quirks? And what exactly is the root of the cursed forest itself?
1. Flippy

HTF Origins: Flippy

Written by Flaky Ciel

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"A scarred, shattered soldier, his mind split into two opposites."

Flippy held his rifle to him closely as he ran, the sound of gunfire and explosions ripe in the air. He followed his allies, despite not knowing exactly where they were going as they ran through the forest, hoping they wouldn't spring any of the numerous traps. "It wasn't supposed to be like this!" He yelled to himself. All three of them leapt into a clearing, a twinkle of hope in their eyes. But that all disappeared when they looked at all of the gun barrels pointing their way. That was it; they were surrounded.

As they were stripped of their guns and beaten down, Flippy lost consciousness. "It wasn't supposed to be like this…" Flippy repeated to himself. Flippy was merely a greenhorn fresh out of training before he got to that God-forsaken jungle. He graduated top of his class, an elite killing machine some would say. But the urge to kill wasn't in him.

He always remembered what his family had told him, about how killing was wrong, and a real soldier knew the price of opening fire before he pulled the trigger. His dad was a great military man, and a compassionate one. He was so proud to hear his son was going to fight for his country. He was a natural from the start, knowing how to handle a gun well, and a knife even better, having trained since childhood.

When he was young, Flippy was quite aggressive, often picking on the other children due to his superior physical attributes. But his parents soon taught him the error of his ways, and he grew into a kind, altruistic young man. His intrusive violent thoughts soon all but disappeared, and he decided that the only violence that he'd tolerate was to save others.

And he always knew that killing was a very wrong choice, unless the alternatives were exhausted. "Do not kill to save yourself." His father told him. "Kill so that you may survive, and save others." He took these words to heart, and they were his mantra throughout the war. "Even enemies deserve respect, and mercy." He remembered. It was only his third day out when he got to put those words to the test.

His squad of twelve was ambushed by a few guerilla fighters, and Flippy opened fire upon their attackers, wounding several. After the coast was clear, they had lost one man, and three wounded enemies were still in sight. Flippy kneeled down and tried to tend to the man's wounds, despite his screams of protest. His commanding officer, a tiger, came up behind him, furious. "Soldier, what the HELL are you doing!?"

"He's wounded. If we can patch up this leg we can save his life." Flippy responded. The tiger rolled his eyes and drew a pistol, placing a bullet squarely between the wounded man's eyes.

"And then he can stab us all in the back. Yeah, GREAT idea. What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you realize these men are out to KILL you?"

"That's no reason to not show any mercy, sir." Flippy protested, angry that he had just shot a defenseless man.

"They will not show you any mercy, Flip. I don't care if you're the top God-damn graduate, this is WAR, and you will follow MY orders! You are NOT to spare ANYONE, got that!?" The tiger roared.

"But sir-" Flippy was cut off.

"I don't think you understand war, son. You will do what it takes to survive! The point isn't to die for your country, it's to make these sorry sons-of-bitches die for theirs! Am I clear!?"

"Crystal, sir…" Flippy glared, before they moved on. Flippy's priorities couldn't be shaken, however, and still helped whenever he could. When the war had started, he was excited to try to protect his country from the seemingly soulless and evil folks that they were fighting against. However, his heart just sank when he got on the field, and witnessed the sheer desperation in their eyes. He wondered who the true "bad guys" were, if there were any. It was the first time he was unsure of his own morals.

When they finally joined the main fray their squad didn't last any time at all. Their group was shattered and all of the men scattered, Flippy running with three of his closer friends and trying to reform the group. However, fear caught them all, and soon they just were running for their lives. As they fought through the dense jungle, he could hear his CO's words ringing, and he could feel his natural aggression levels start rising again. He banished them all, as they told him to just murder everyone in the area. But he couldn't do that. It was only moments later when they were captured.

When he awoke he found himself in a small cell, with his friends in there with him. He was a POW then. He couldn't believe that it was happening to him. His captors were relentless as well, as the trio were routinely dragged out and tied up, forced into cages and then submerged shoulder-deep in water while the prison guards taunted and jeered at them, trying to extract information from them. But none of them knew anything.

The isolation, the sounds of airplanes and bombs, all of it was maddening. But what really got to them first was sheer hunger. His ally wasn't doing well, the worst of the three. His instincts told him that he had to eat, but the only thing there was to eat was… he couldn't even think of it. He banished the thoughts and continued to hope for a way out. Hope for someone to help them.

The hunger drove them all to the edge, as they constantly argued and lashed out at each other. The horrible pain in Flippy's stomache was starting to become too much to bear. "You have to eat something…" He heard a voice say. "Marcas… he's not gonna make it. It's what he would want."

"N-no… I can't…" Flippy said aloud, prompting both his friends to give him an odd look. "I couldn't…"

"You have to, it's the only way."

"Th-then I'll starve to death here…" Flippy said.

"You do what you must to survive…" He heard. "You're the strongest, and it's the survival of the fittest out here. You can kill them." He knew that he could kill them both, no sweat. It just wasn't in him. He couldn't. He closed his eyes, passing out from hunger pangs.

When he came to, he looked up at his friends. He couldn't take the hunger in his stomach anymore. With lust for food in his eyes, he got up and ran towards Joseph and Marcas, screaming. They both screamed back as he seized Marcas and snapped his neck, ending his life abruptly. Joseph was horrified that his best of friends could do such a thing, especially after Flippy had started consuming his friend's raw carcass.

No longer starving, Flippy's bloodlust ended, and he too was horrified. He backed up and puked up all of the food he had worked so hard to get. "How…. How!?" Joseph demanded. Flippy just looked up, shaken.

"Th-this wasn't me…. It… it couldn't have been me…" Flippy collapsed, raking his hands across the top of his head. His mind was spinning, unable to cope. He let out a deafening scream, and Joseph started to shake his shoulders, yelling back. Flippy suddenly stopped and seized his hand, and the last thing Joseph ever saw was Flippy's unnatural, horrific green eyes.

Flippy started to eat his fill again, this time with an almost sadistic glee. In order to survive, he had to learn to love the darker side of war. In order to keep himself alive, he had to learn to love to kill others. He wiped the blood from his face, Joseph's gnawed corpse being all that was left of him. Flippy heard the door to their cellblock open, and he dropped to the ground.

When the guards came in all they saw were three bodies. They ran inside to examine the damage. One guard nudged Flippy's form with his rifle, but it didn't stir. Satisfied that they were all dead, they all turned to give each other confused stares. Suddenly one felt his rifle move, as Flippy grabbed its barrel and slammed it backwards, caving his skull in with the butt of his own rifle. They all jumped to open fire, but hit the ground as Flippy was quicker on the draw. Flippy let out a deep-voiced, evil cackle. "Pathetic!" He cried, manically. He licked his chops again, contently. Soon enough, the whole prison was littered with bodies, and Flippy was armed to the teeth.

For 23 hours, Flippy became the angel of death on that battlefield, fighting his way back home. All manner of folk died in his wake, using whatever means available to end their lives and continue his own. He took sheer, sadistic glee in watching them all die, and tasting their flesh whenever he became hungry. He slowly made his way through the jungle, luring convoys of both sides into the traps he'd replicated throughout the area. When he finally got home, back to base camp, he collapsed, exhausted.

When he awoke, he found himself in the medical tent, being prepared to leave. He had several bullet wounds and was in terrible condition, but he didn't know how he'd got there. The last thing he remembered was Joseph shaking him, horrified. "Wh-where am I?" He asked, dazed.

"Safe." Said a soldier, nearby. "You fought hard, and long, but you're safe now."

"Fought..?" he asked, confused. He groaned in pain, and the medics gave him an injection that eased the pain. He collapsed into unconsciousness, his head spinning again. His dreams were filled with nightmarish images of whole-sale slaughter, and the cannibalizing of other animals.

Flippy continued to have these dreams, even after he had got back to his home town of Greenville. He was confused and distraught about the nightmares, not knowing how or where they were coming from. He was also dumbfounded when they gave him a medal of honor, and a large celebration in his honor for escaping such a difficult situation. His father was proud, but Flippy couldn't shake the nightmares. His father told him that he too had nightmares of war, and it was a burden he'd have to carry for a long time.

He never got used to it, though. One night, he woke from a particularly frightening dream. He splashed water on his face, trying to calm down. He was so sick of war already. The pride and honor that came from it would always remain, and he was proud of fighting for his beliefs, but he just couldn't take any more. He left his apartment, quietly going back to his parent's house on that cold winter's day. It had been almost three months since he got back from battle. In his absence, his country was victorious, and everything seemed to be doing well.

He jammed his hands in his pockets, walking along. He had a habit of wearing his beret, camo-jacket, and dog-tags, as a sign of honor, which tended to draw attention to him. A few kids wandering the side of the street started making machine-gun noises, inspired by his wardrobe. Flippy watched them wage pretend-war, and felt something deep inside him stir. He clutched his head, painfully, and suddenly blacked out.

When he woke up, he was restrained in a chair, with a bright light in his face. "Wh-what!?" He exclaimed.

"He's awake." A man out of sight noted. They shut the light off, revealing themselves to be in white coats and several armed guards were in the room.

"Who are you!? Why am I here? What is this place!?" He demanded. The two coat-wearers looked at each other, intrigued. "Well!?"

"You don't know?" One asked. Flippy shook his head, scared. "You're in Greenville Asylum… You're being restrained here for… murder."

"Murder!?" Flippy exclaimed.

"Show him the video." Another said. They twisted Flippy's chair, pointing him towards a monitor. It showed static, but one of the asylum doctors flipped a switch, starting the video. It showed an armed convoy going through a hallway with he himself in shackles, an eerie look in his eyes.

"I-I don't remember that." Flippy stated.

"Shh, keep watching." The lab-coat said. Flippy grudgingly obliged. Soon, the bear on the video had wriggled out of their grip and was throttling one of the guards with the chains on his wrists. Flippy watched in horror as he killed three more guards before they tranquilized him with darts and he was on the ground, asleep. The video ended.

"Th-that wasn't me…" Flippy almost begged.

"Yes, it was, I'm afraid. You killed two children, and this video was taken while you were en route here." He was told.

Flippy's eyes watered. "No! Not me, I couldn't have done something like that! There's just no way! It's impossible!"

"You might not have done it consciously…" The scientist said, "But you still committed these crimes, and we can't rule out the fact that you're acting right now."

"I'm no acting! I would never have done something like that!" He cried. But the proof was in front of him, as the video looped. He almost cried. Could those dreams have actually been flashbacks?

"Calm down, Flippy. We're going to help you…" The scientist told him. Flippy could tell by his voice his concern was for the research at hand rather than he himself. "We're going to do a test." They said, flipping another switch. The video was suddenly changed. A peaceful environment was displayed on the screen. Flippy sighed, soothed by the calming cartoon-drawn image of a flowery meadow with a unicorn grazing peacefully. He smiled, but suddenly another image flashed for a moment. He twitched, somehow knowing it was a gun.

This happened a few more times, with the images becoming more and more violent and for longer periods. Eventually actual footage from the war was shown. He cried and looked away, but they forced his head back towards the monitor. He felt his head spinning and suddenly everything went black again. When he opened his eyes again he was free, and everyone in the room was dead. He screamed, being coated with blood, and dropped the scalpel in his hand. "Oh my God… Oh my GOD! OH MY GOD!!!" He screamed. It was all true. He was a monster. He did the only thing he could think to do, run.

He got back home, somehow eluding sight. He splashed more water on his face, blathering. "No no no no no…" He cried, sobbing into the sink.

"Don't cry, you wuss." He heard a voice say. He looked up, seeing his reflection with those nightmarish eyes. "It's shit like this that landed us in trouble." It said, smiling.

Flippy's eyes narrowed with realization. "Who are you!?" He demanded.

"I'm you! Sorry, how rude. Hello, Me. It's Me again." It smiled.

"You're not me!" Flippy yelled back.

"I AM you! I'm the part of you who's willing to do what needs done! HAHAHA! And we're going to be together for a good… long time… As long as we live, in fact. And if I have my say, that'll be a while.

"No! This isn't happening!" He told it. It only laughed back.

"Yes it is, and it's beautiful! The splintered mind, the separation of will… and instinct…" Flippy tried to ignore it. "See? You were too WEAK to survive, so you had to create… me… And now you're US! HAHAA!"

"Well I don't need you anymore! So go away!" He cried.

"It's not that easy. I'm part of you too, and I'm here and I LIKE it here! I'm not going anywhere!" Flippy grabbed his head, horrified. He didn't know what to do. "And I have needs, needs you can't understand. I hope you're not social, because I will keep killing, and killing, and KILLING!"

"NOOOO!" Flippy screamed at him, breaking into a full run in the opposite direction, his reflection's manic laugh chasing him. He ran into his garage, flinging himself into his jeep and driving it forward, knocking the garage door clean off and taking off on the main freeway. He needed to get far, far away, until he could figure out what to do. He sighed, worried.

"You can't run from me." The reflection in the rear-view mirror told him. "We're mates now, you and I. We're stuck in the same body, we share the same being. You may be the dominant one, but the SECOND your subconscious thinks it might be in danger, the gates open RIGHT up for me!" Flippy ignored it, continuing to drive. He couldn't decide what to do. He figured that if he just kept on the road, he wouldn't run into anyone and thereby couldn't kill them.

Hours turned into days, his alter ego being mockingly cheerful the whole time. His focus was wavering, the lack of sleep getting to him. "Hey, you should pull over at this next stop." The evil being in the mirror told him.

"No." He said.

"C'mon, you need sleep, not to mention GAS." It said, correctly. Flippy sighed. He looked around him, and there was nothing but forest for miles. This was extremely far from any big city he'd ever heard of.

"Alright…" He said, defeated. He thanked his lucky stars that this was so far off the map. "It hardly looks like anyone's ever BEEN here." Flippy remarked.

"No doubt." His reflection said. Flippy looked at the overhead sign.

"Happy Tree Town." Flippy said, turning off of the empty road and towards the road under the sign. "It must be some quiet back-water town…" Flippy said, relieved. Only minutes later he was driving through the small, town, filled with natural-looking houses and a rather peaceful scenery. However, the next thing he knew it was morning, and his steering wheel was jammed around his neck.

He woozily got out of his jeep, amazed he had survived. He looked around, realizing that he was the center of quite a scene. Everyone was surrounding him, staring vacantly at the accident. He looked down at the yellow bunny they were talking about, realizing that he was underneath the wreckage of his jeep "Oh God…" He said, seeing the bloody carcass underneath his vehicle.

"Cuddles!!!" A pink chipmunk screamed, running to his body. Flippy grabbed his head, flashbacks flooding him as everyone surrounding him burst into chatter. He looked back at Cuddles's body, and everything went black. When he came to, everyone in the area was dead, again. He buried his face in his hands, sobbing. The pink chipmunk somehow survived, hiding in a bush, quietly climbed out.

He looked up, horrified. "I-I'm so sorry…I… I didn't mean to…" He blubbered. She looked up at him.

"I-I'm giggles… What's you're name?" She asked.

"F-Flippy…" He said, still tearing. "I killed them all… I'm so sorry… I can't control it!"

"It's okay…" She said, smiling a little, but obviously still shaken.

He looked back at her, stunned, "It's okay!?" He asked, flabbergasted.

"Uhuh. You're a different person than you were a moment ago…" She said.

"Y-yeah… The other one lives… inside my head… When something reminds me of the war, I just lose it…"

"You flip out?" She asked, joking.

He was overwhelmed. "Y-yeah, I guess. But what do you mean everything's okay? They're all dead!"

"They'll be back." She said, nonchalantly. He just stared at her, disbelieving. "This place is cursed, Flippy… I'm sorry you had to come here." He just kept staring. "Well… in this place, when you die, you just… come back a few days later at that hospital." She said, pointing. "No one understands it, but you didn't cause any permanent damage."

Flippy flopped to his seat, overwhelmed. She couldn't help but laugh at him. "Well, you'd better get used to living here too. You can't leave. We've tried before, hundreds of times. There's no escaping it. There might even be more towns like this one connected in this world."

"S-So I have to live here?" He asked. She nodded.

"And if this is the real you, I'm sure we'd like to be your friends, too. Trust me, you seem great when you're not 'flipped out'." She said, laughing at her own pun. He nodded, understanding.

And she turned out to be right, as a few days later they DID come back, against all reason. Flippy couldn't understand it, even the day he died and came back himself. Trapped forever in that place, he thought, was going to be horrible. The rebirth process was horribly painful, and he'd force that pain on everyone every time he killed them. But, at least he had friends, and people who would understand his plight. And he'd have all the time in the world to cure himself of his other self, if it were possible… At least he still had his honor.

Flippy just stared at the mirror in his new bathroom, having bought a house recently: A nice hallowed out log. His hallways were already filling up with historic memorabilia, including medieval artifacts and other such things. His odd jobs paid pretty well, and his status as a veteran got him a check in the mail every month too, somehow. At least the land had a government, despite it being a little intangible.

His reflection stared back, smiling. "This is gonna be fun." It said, "Letting these people die over and over again. HAHAHA! Looks like the Devil finally got to Hell!"

"Yes, you did…" Flippy growled back, hatefully. He heard a knock at his door, and frustratingly opened it. His mood lifted when he realized it was Cuddles, Flaky, and Petunia at his door.

"Hey, Flippy! We were gonna play some hide 'n seek! Did you want to come?" He asked, excited.

"Yeah, sure!" He said, happily. Maybe, he thought, this could all turn out okay.

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(Notes: My take on how Flippy might have become how he is . I'm gonna make this a series, I think. Bear in mind these probably won't be in chronological order, or anything like that. I will try to make references to the first episodes they appear in though )


	2. Flaky

HTF Origins: Flaky

Written by Flaky Ciel

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"A girl who's innocence is lost, and who's mind is sent on a spiral of grief and paranoia."

"Ready for bed, sweetie?" Ruby's mom asked, walking into her bedroom. Ruby looked up from her coloring and smiled back at her.

"Uhuh!" She said, happily. The 12-year-old porcupine girl climbed into bed. Her mother crouched down next to her, kissing her on the forehead and covering her daughter with her blanket. Ruby grabbed her teddy bear, hugging it to her. "Good night, Mommy." She said, sweetly.

The woman smiled, "Good night, sweetie. Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Uhuh…" Ruby responded, uncertainly. She looked around her room, which was almost empty, since most of her things had already been packed into boxes. "How come we have to move, Mommy..?" She asked.

She stroked her daughter's head, comfortingly. "Well, your Daddy and I think it'd be a nice change. After Daddy lost his job, we needed to find a new place to live. Besides, don't you think it'd be nice moving to a little, quiet place like Happy Tree Town?" Ruby nodded, since she liked the name. "Daddy even got online and we've bought a little house there already. It's little, but we're a little family, right?"

She smiled, "Right!" Ruby's mom chuckled a little. She didn't like the thought of moving, thanks to a deficit of money, but she didn't like the city they lived in anyway. Ruby was a little scared, though. Starting a new school seemed frightening. "I'm just a little scared…" She whined.

"Shh…" Her mom cooed, giving her a big hug. "Everything's going to be okay, Ruby. I promise." Ruby hugged her back, being rocked slightly.

"Okay…" She said, mostly calmed. Her mother had a way of always calming her down, and making everything seem safe and better. She smiled, knowing nothing bad was going to happen as long as they were there.

Ruby always came off as a bid of a dependant child, since even as she matured she always ran to her parents for comfort and safety, which she had a very high need for. They didn't mind, though, and were always more than happy to lend their daughter a hug and a kiss to calm her down and ease her worries. After all, they all loved each other very much, and the three of them were as close as a family could be.

They weren't always so close. In fact, the person she called "daddy" wasn't her true father at all. Her real father, the one she grew up with for six years, was scary and abusive towards everyone around him, even his daughter. But seeing the devastating effects it was having on their child, Ruby's mother moved them away from there, finding a much kinder man to settle down with. And Ruby was very happy after that.

Her mom kissed her head again, "Good night, Ruby. Get some sleep, sweetie."

"Good night, Mommy…" She said, snuggling under her covers, drifting off to sleep.

The next morning her dad woke her up, "Time to get up, honey. We start our move today." She sat up and rubbed her eyes, still sleepy.

"Okay, Daddy…" She said, stumbling out of bed. He laughed a little at her.

"Why don't you get your mom to help you get ready while I run out and grab some breakfast?" He asked. She nodded, and he gave her a hug and kissed her cheek before going downstairs. She ran into her mom in the bathroom. Ruby's mother helped her comb and brush through the dense thicket of red quills on her head and back, just like the ones on her mom.

Ruby just closed her eyes, sleepily, and let her mother comb through her hair. Her mom smiled, combing through her daughter's softened quills. Porcupines usually needed help in order to take proper care of their quills, but thankfully for them they all had help grooming each other. Her mom told her that the reason she was named "Ruby" was because of the color of her quills, so she and her mother were always diligent about keeping them soft and clean.

"There you go, sweetie." Her mom said, putting down the brush. She smiled and they both went into her room, packing everything that she really needed, and that would fit in the car. Her dad would have to come back for the rest another time, with a truck. They argued a bit, jokingly, on what Ruby "needed", but decided on some clothes, her teddy bear, and her coloring supplies.

When the man of the house got back with the van, he helped them load their things into the van. "We've already got a bit of a late start…" He said, "We'll have to hurry up if we're going to make it there before night, so let's go ahead and eat in the car." When they all loaded up, Ruby gave one last sad look at her house, before saying goodbye to it forever. Her mom started passing out the fast-food that her dad had picked up, noticing that he had neglected to get some for himself. "I'm the one driving. I'll be okay." He explained.

Ruby quietly ate her food in the back seat. "I miss our house already…" She said, sadly. Her mom patted her on the leg from the front seat.

"It'll be okay, sweetie." She said.

"Yeah, we'll have each other to make up for it." Her father added. She nodded, cheered up by the idea. She stared out the window as they left her hometown, once again a little saddened by the prospect of leaving it. A few silent hours passed, all of them a little down from the experience.

Ruby got out her coloring books and bear, trying to pass the long drive away. They all shared some conversation, breaking up the uncomfortable silence, talking about their new home and how they'll go about it. Such as how her dad was going to get a nice job to help finish paying for the house. Unfortunately, they also had a blowout, making them waste precious time changing tires. When it started getting dark, Ruby's mother changed to the backseat, so that her daughter could lean against her and get some sleep. She felt her mom's arm around her, protecting her from everything that was around her, and she fell right to sleep.

Suddenly, the whole van jolted, violently waking Ruby up. She screamed and held onto her mom, but everything was alright. Her dad got out, going right to the back door to check on the two most important things to him. They all got out, hugging. "Are you two okay!?" He asked, frantic. They both just nodded in response. They were in a desolate intersection, and their van's front end had gotten side-swiped by a passing car. Her dad hugged them both, thankfully.

They looked back at their van, whose front end was totaled. The other car took off, much to her father's dismay, but he was just thankful everyone was okay. He sighed, knowing how close they were to their destination. Just a few miles, he thought. And both Ruby's parent knew that they didn't have the kind of money needed to get this fixed, or even towed for that matter. But she was happy, having her parents there for her.

But they all shivered and almost froze as the sound of screeching wheels came a second time. Ruby just froze, not knowing what was going on. She buried herself in her mother's hug, but almost screamed as she was wrenched away from her and thrown downwards, onto the cold, hard pavement. She just closed her eyes, and the moment she hit the ground the sound of a loud crash roared out.

When she opened her eyes, she was staring up at the undercarriage of another car. She groaned, feeling the scrapes on her elbows, and forced herself to crawl out of from underneath the wreck. She hugged her teddy bear to her, looking out down the dark street. She turned around, looking for her mom and dad, and, sadly, found them. They hadn't avoided the collision like she had, and were pinned between the front end of the car and their van.

Ruby's eyes flooded with tears, rushing to her parents' sides. "Mommy! Daddy!" She bawled, horrified. They both weakly opened their eyes, in order to look down at their little girl. Ruby looked down at their feet, around which a large pool of blood was accumulating. She ran up to the car, in a vain attempt to move it and free her parents. She looked up at the driver, who's body was merely slumped over the steering wheel. She started crying harder, and then her mother grabbed her hand, tenderly. Ruby looked up at her, sadly, "P-please don't l-leave me, Mommy…" She whimpered.

"Everything's going… to be okay, R-Ruby…" Her mom said, crying. Her dad wasn't able to speak, but he looked at her in an attempt to agree. "Everything's… going to be okay…" Ruby lingered, bawling her eyes out as her parents both passed away, quietly.

"Mommy..?" She asked, woefully. "Mommy, wake up… Y-you can't leave me…" She kept trying to rouse her mother for several minutes, until finally realizing that she could never wake up again. Ruby squeezed her bear, not knowing what to do. She bawled for a long time, an hour maybe, and turned completely around, running from the scene as fast as her little legs could carry her.

She kept running, knowing that her mother was wrong. Everything wasn't going to be okay. She kept running and running, until she just couldn't run anymore. She dragged herself onward for a few more minutes, before collapsing. She curled up underneath a sign reading "Happy Tree Town", shivering, and finally conked out.

When she woke up she kept walking again, sniffling and dragging her bear behind her. Before long she could see the town, and the area surrounding it. Her eyes sparkled with the sight, which to her was beautiful. This was the place her parents had died trying to get to. Her excitement turned directly into to sorrow, as she realized that she was alone. She held in tears, unsuccessfully, knowing that she didn't have anyplace to go at all.

She whimpered, walking into the worse part of the surprisingly large town. She didn't have any place to run to, so she decided to just find the nearest hospitable place she could find. She spotted an old mattress in an alleyway, and she walked over to it and collapsed. She curled up, hugging herself, not knowing what to do. "What do you think you're doing!?" Cried a voice from her side. The owner of the mattress ran at her, making her flee as fast as she could away.

As she ran through the alley, suddenly the back door to a building swung open, slamming her into the wall behind it. She felt a few of her teeth get knocked loose and started crying, even after the door had closed. She looked down, feeling a sharp pain in he chest. Ruby's face when as white as a sheet when she realized that a loose, rusty pipe was lodged through her ribs. She screamed and flailed, pinned to the wall. Blood gushed out of her open wound, and she started losing strength quickly. Her eyes closed, and she thought, "…M-maybe I can see Mommy and Daddy in heaven…" Before she finally passed away.

Suddenly she became aware of a searing pain throughout her entire body, like the pipe in her chest was heating up and expanding. It went on for several moments, Ruby wondering if she had somehow gone to hell. She woke up, bawling and sweating. She was in the hospital, in a darker room by herself. She whined and cried, trying to hide herself under her covers. A doctor walked in, surprised to see her. "Wh-what happened!?" She cried.

"Oh, you must've died." He said.

"D-died!?" She asked, flabbergasted.

"Welcome to Happy Tree Forest." He said, calmly. She looked at him, not understanding. He sat at the edge of her bed, and began to explain everything. How when someone died, they came back in the hospital she was lying in, how many people stopped aging at random points (usually upon arrival), and how no one knew who built the city originally, or why it was cursed so.

Ruby started crying again, knowing that somehow this was real. She realized her parents wouldn't come back, since they never made it. She bawled and bawled, finally getting enough willpower to get up and leave the hospital. She kept crying, knowing she'd be lonely and keep dying, maybe even forever. And worst of all, no one was there to hold her, or tell her it was going to be okay.

Ruby went back to the alley she had died in, not at all surprised to see her own blood splatter on the wall. She picked up her teddy bear, using it to dry her tears. She weakly stumbled into another alley, aimlessly. She looked up, hearing a crack of thunder, and a downpour started, as if to punctuate the sheer hopelessness. She just sat down, hopeless and lonely. She heard a door open and turned to look, as a wooden crate was thrown into the alley. She sniffled and walked over to it, as to examine it.

It was surprisingly water tight, and when she found a few blankets and an old, worn out pillow, she made herself a bed inside it. "Welcome home…" She cried, hugging her bear, wet, cold, and alone. Her new home stood up fairly well to the elements, but the scraps of food she scavenged couldn't really hold her over very well. Worst of all, something was out to kill her every time she rounded a corner. Even inanimate objects seemed out to get her.

Weeks passed and her paranoia, desperation, and loneliness grew rapidly. As if to add insult, her quills started becoming stiff, and accumulating large flakes of dandruff from not being taken care of. Nothing in the whole world seemed safe. Her phobias skyrocketed thanks to numerous deaths and injuries, and they soon turned into a general fear of everything. Even if it hadn't hurt her yet, she became afraid of things merely be thinking of how they could, even ridiculous things. She was even afraid to sleep for too long, or else she might be mauled by some wild animal or raped by a passing thug, both of which happened to her several times. Someone even took off with her crate one day.

Life seemed at its absolute worst, a living hell for the poor girl. She just sat for several days, shivering. She sat in an alley, where people occasionally passed her a coin or two. Her self-esteem took a blow too, since she somehow thought that it might have been her fault this was happening. She just hid with her blanket wrapped around her, all hope lost. She knew no one would help her, ever. She looked up, however, when a yellow rabbit, ironically wearing bunny slippers, appeared, looming over her. She just stared at him, her eyes huge with sorrow and despair.

"You okay..?" He asked, showing her the first shreds of sympathy she'd encountered thus far. She just stared at him a moment before shaking her head "no."

"I'm scared…" She whimpered, tearing up. The rabbit put his arm around her, trying to comfort the obviously distraught porcupine.

"I'm sorry…" He said, pulling away and beginning to pull a few quills out of his arm. "My name's Cuddles. What's your name? Flaky?" Ruby looked at him, confused. She didn't quite understand.

"Flaky?" She asked, quietly. Cuddles laughed a little and pulled one of the large flakes of dandruff off of her head. She looked away, embarrassed. "Oh…" He looked at her, as if to apologize. "C'mon, Flaky. Let's see if we can't find you a place to live." He said, taking her by her hand and almost dragging her away. She clutched her blanket and teddy, scared, but extremely relieved to have someone try and help her. "My friend, Lumpy, is a realtor. Well, for NOW anyway. He might be able to hook you up, Flaky!"

"O-okay…" She said, hesitantly. She wasn't sure what to say about what she was being called, but she just let it go, not wanting to make waves. Cuddles continued to lead her until they were inside a building, walking up to the desk occupied by a large blue moose.

"Hey there, Cuddles!" He said, happily. Cuddles walked them both right up to the desk.

"Hey there, Lumpy!" He returned. "This is my new friend, Flaky!"

"Hey there, Flaky!" Lumpy said, just as happy. She smiled, nervously, and waved back. She figured she might as well go with her new name, since Cuddles insisted. Besides, her "ruby hair" wasn't in great shape anymore. "So how can I help you, sir?" He asked.

"A-actually… I'm a g-girl…" She said, sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry." Lumpy laughed. "Can I help you the same?"

"She needs a place to live!" Cuddles butted in.

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" Lumpy asked. Flaky raised a hand to speak but they both cut her off. "Well let's see… What price range are you looking for?"

"A-actually, my… my p-parents already bought a house h-here… Only they're g-g-gone…" She said, already starting to cry again.

"Funny, most people move into a house after they buy one…" Lumpy said, obviously not catching on. He looked at Cuddles, who made a choking gesture out of Flaky's sight. "Oh… I get it… I'm so sorry, Flaky." He corrected, genuinely moved.

Flaky sniffled, happy to have someone to care about her. "Why don't we get you moved in then?" Cuddles asked, Lumpy nodding in agreement. "It'd sure beat living on the street! I could get all my friends to come over and help get you furniture and stuff!"

"R-really?" Flaky asked, touched. Cuddles nodded, and ran off with Lumpy, carrying Flaky in tow. It was only moments later that Cuddles had rounded his closest friends: Giggles, Toothy, Petunia, Handy, and Sniffles, and introduced them. It was only moments more that they were all helping Flaky move into her new home. It wasn't smooth sailing, as Toothy, Sniffles, and Petunia all lost their lives by the day's end.

But the remaining friends all welcomed their new neighbor. Flaky, genuinely touched, was more than happy to have these new friends. "Maybe…" She thought to herself, aloud, "Th-this place isn't s-so bad…" She happily moved into her new house, the one her parents had bought for her, and wondered why anyone would ever move there. She also picked up the others' habit of taking odd jobs, and every week she worked, she got a mysterious check in the mail. She wasn't quite ready to grow up, but in that place she could be a kid and an adult at the same time.

In the months that passed, Flaky's house became more safety-oriented, having suffered several accidents since moving in. Her deep-rooted sorrow started to leave her, with her new, and close, friends to rely on. Though, her paranoia wouldn't leave her for a moment. "C'mon, Flaky!" became Cuddles's most frequently uttered phrase in her presence, since he'd always try to get her to have some fun. "When you've lived here as long as me, you gotta realize that you're gonna die no matter what. So, why not cut loose and have fun before you do?" He told her, sagely.

"I-I'm just s-scared…" She said. "I-I'm afraid to get h-hurt…"

"You can't be scared forever!" He said, cheerfully, before dragging her into another dangerous spot. She begged to differ with his opinion, though, since over the course of a year she remained as jumpy and paranoid as ever. But her life wasn't so hard, at least after gaining such wonderful friends that she could depend upon and go to when she was lonely. Not only that, but they helped her become just a little bit more sure of herself, and made her feel like she was important to them, even if they did pick on her a little.

But she still missed her parents deeply. Lying in bed at night, in her house, alone, she'd always think of them, especially her mom. Her friends were wonderful, but they could never replace the relationship she had with her folks. At least they could come kinda close, she though. She sighed, holding her bear. She looked at her dresser, which had a few snapshots of her with her friends on them.

Flaky smiled, knowing that she could always see their bright and smiling faces, even if it was dangerous to go out. She wished that they'd respect her fear a little more, instead of dragging her into situations they could get hurt in. In fact, sometimes she wished she could just stay home. It just didn't pay to get out of bed, sometimes. But the break of loneliness was worth it, and she couldn't let down her new friends. When she turned her lights off, leaving the night-light on, she remembered that she promised Cuddles that she'd go swimming with him tomorrow and sighed, a mixture of happiness and worry welling up in her.

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(Notes: I tried to do well on Flaky's backstory, and I figured that she'd probably have lived there a while before her first episode. I also tried to explain why she seems so paranoid, and her low-self-esteem and stuff like that. Poor Flaky… I really like this character, so I hope I did good on the story :D )


	3. Russell

HTF Origins: Russell

Written by Flaky Ciel

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"An adventurous soul, battle-scarred and experienced, cast from the seas."

Russell balanced atop the front of his ship, his good leg forward, hoisting the spyglass to his eye. He twisted about, looking for any passing ships to be seen. Satisfied, he closed it and pocketed the device, jumping down onto the deck. He walked past his crewmates, going strait for the captain himself. The walrus looked down at the little sea-otter, who saluted half-heartedly with his hook.

"Yar, Cap'n!" Russell shouted. "I saw one of them military boats off near the shoreline! I think they be lookin' fer us, waitin' fer us to go ashore."

"Good work. Y'ain't m' first mate for nothin'." The walrus said, snidely.

"What be our course of action?" He asked, still saluting.

"We butcher 'em all. They must have some nice weapons on that boat. We take 'em all for 'rselves."

Russell looked a little disappointed. "But Cap'n, ain't that a little… excessive?" He asked.

"Russell, me boy…" The walrus said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Ya got too soft 'a heart. Look at yarself. Ya only got one hand and one leg. If you don't toughen up, they might just get the rest of ya. Now, where you be standin'?"

"With you, Cap'n…" Russell pledged. The captain walked down on deck, to prepare the crew. Russell stabbed at the deck with his peg-leg and shifted his bandanna. He had lost his hand and leg in battle, one which could have been avoided, he thought.

Russell loved the pirate's life, and he grew up sailing. He was an orphan found out at sea by a pirate crew, and he loved the life of a sailor. However, the mystical life of the pirates he read about in stories was tantalizing. When he finally got the chance, he couldn't pass it up. Sailing and fishing on the open seas, scrounging for treasure, salvaging the sunken wreckages. All of it seemed like the real life to him. Money, beer, and the open ocean. Five years he served with his captain, loyally, having quite a time. The only thing he couldn't get used to was the fighting. Now, he didn't mind fighting himself. In fact, he was quite good at it. The thing he had issues with was senseless killing.

Death and dying were part of the pirate's way; it was unavoidable. But the captain's unnecessary cruelty always left a bad taste in Russell's mouth. Prisoners, captives, enemies, and even his own crewmates were treated horribly by the crew as a whole, mainly as directed by their captain. But, he was the captain, so orders were orders. The crew went about preparing to sneak up on the unlucky military vessel. To most people, their little replica pirate ship would be laughable, but he wooden boat carried a wide array of nasty surprises. "Release the fog." The walrus ordered.

They all laughed and began dumping mass quantities of specially-treated dry ice from the cannon ports, causing amazing amounts of fog to rise up. Soon, the little island's shores were awash with the stuff, leaving them almost undetectable. "Cap'n…" Russell asked, running up behind him, "I 'ave to say, this don't seem right. Not only that, but they gotta' be 'eavily armed!"

"What be yer point, Russell?" The Captain asked, impatiently.

"I'm just not sure this be a good idea…" Russell admitted. They waved it off.

"The orders stay. We attack!" The pirates roared in agreement, grabbing their weapons and preparing for the assault. Russell shrugged, compliantly, and snatched up his cutlass and revolver. They all quieted down, the only sound being the gentle creaking of the ship as they rounded the island, ready to attack. "Prepare the bridge." The captain whispered.

They carefully and quietly maneuvered into position around the metal military boat, and by the time they were seen it was too late. A pair of special harpoon guns poked out the sides of their ship, loaded. They both fired under enormous pressure, lodging the spears into the sides of the metal hull, with a rope bridge in tow. The soldiers on board had little time to react before they were overrun.

Russell helped lead the charge, opening fire with his revolver while the captain unloaded with his shotgun. Soldiers fell, and more dropped from their crewmates shots. They all stormed the ship, butchering the bewildered and unfortunate men. Russell drew his cutlass, which was countered by a soldier's knife. A few quick sword slashes later, he was disarmed, quite literally. Russell turned his attention to another soldier, and then another.

By his third kill he drew his pistol again, shooting a soldier in the shoulder and kicking him to the ground. Another soldier drew his own pistol, intending to shoot the little otter, but Russell lashed out with his sword, slicing his fingers off. The soldier glared at him, but Russell walked away from his downed opponent. He heard the click of a gun too late, and by the time he had turned around the soldier had fired.

The bullet grazed his face, slicing his right eye clean out of its socket. Russell screamed and stumbled backwards. He heard machine-gun fire start, and the he looked up at his other crewmates. Most of them were already dead, and the rest of them were retreating back onto the ship, along with their captain. Russell hollered and scrambled after them, clutching his wounded eye. They cut the rope and turned tail, still being fired upon. They had never suffered such a horrible defeat before, and were unsure how to escape.

"Full power! Set sail away!" The walrus shouted, grabbing at his stomach, which was home to a fresh gun-wound. They all sailed away, a hail of bullets still chasing the lot of them and putting a few more pirates out of commission. The ship's medic tended to the wounded Russell's eye as best he could in the situation, finally opting to remove the rest of it.

"Yar-Wait!" Russell pleaded in vain, before the rest of his eye was cut out. He shouted and screamed, and the Captain just looked at them, disgusted.

"This be pitiful!" He yelled over the gunfire. "Simply pitiful! You yellow-bellied bastards should have fought harder! I should pluck all your eyes out an-" Suddenly he was cut off, as a bullet hole appeared right in the center of his forehead. Everyone screamed as their boss hit the ground, stone dead, and the military boat finally faded into the fog.

A handful of pirates all looked around for a moment, before leaping towards their captain's body. They snatched up his symbol, his prized hat, and began fighting amongst themselves for it. The other pirates all sat back, watching, not wanting to get into a fight. Suddenly a gunshot was fired, and they all turned to see the short culprit.

Russell, holding the discharged gun in his hand, stomped the ground with his peg-leg. "I be the first mate. That makes me acting cap'n." He demanded. They all exchanged glances, unsure of what to make of Russell's demands. They knew he had spunk, and was a darn good pirate, but they weren't sure he had the backbone.

"Sorry, Russell, but we ain't followin' the likes of ya!" One of the pirates shouted. Russell responded by cocking his pistol and aiming it at the man. "What? You ganna shoot me? Ya don't have the balls!" He shouted, daringly. The other pirates all let go of the hat as a gunshot was heard, and the daring seal tumbled over, grabbing his leg.

"Yeh." Russell responded, mockingly. "I just lost an eye, ya shouldn't 'ave tested me. Thow 'im overboard!" The other men instantly obliged, tossing the wounded seal into the water. Russell laughed to himself, knowing that a good swimmer like that would be fine, shot leg or not. He pulled the eye-patch off a dead pirate and placed it over his own eye, followed by their captain's black, skull-and-crossbones hat.

"Okay, boys." Russell said, pacing back and forth. "I be actin' cap'n now, so as my first order listen up! Any of ya who be jerks, asses, or overall honorless-sacks-of-crap, ye best be jumpin' overboard right now, else I might not miss ya like I did 'im!" They all froze, watching their captain's bleeding patch and the gun in his hand.

A few of the men instantly jumped overboard, running for dear life. The others remained silent. Russell smiled, proudly. His dream was coming true. "Well, as fer the rest of ya, let's 'ave the time of our lives! Ya-har! Enough of this weapons crap! Let's set sail for booze and bootie!" The other six pirates grinned widely and raised their swords, shouting.

"Will ye be takin' the wheel… cap'n?" One of them asked. Russell's eyes glazed over with happiness as he put his hand and hook on the ship's steering wheel. He was the happiest pirate on the seven seas.

"Yar!" Russell yelled, spinning the wheel around and heading for open ocean.

A week after his promotion, however, Russell was a little doubtful. Twice already they had to divert coarse, in order to evade the authorities. The fishing was wonderful, but their craving for alcohol and gold continued unfilled. Their chartman looked at the map carefully, comparing it to the one on a small computer underneath the deck. "Cap'n, we be sailin' into unvisited territories now. We don't 'ave any idea where we be goin'."

"I know it." Russell responded, occupied with steering. "I figure that be the best place for some 'onest pirating. Them military ships wouldn't dare come out this far, so if we stick to the edge of the map, we should be fine."

The chartman emerged on deck, annoyed. "Cap'n, with all due respect, why would we just sail right into the uncharted territories? We should stick to raidin' military vessels." Russell sighed. That wasn't the pirate way, in his mind. They should be looking for treasure, not shooting up random soldiers.

"Well, I be figurin' that if we were to gatha' some information first, we'd be betta' prepared." Russell explained.

"But they might still be lookin' fer us out there too!" He yelled. The other pirates all gathered around him, agreeing.

"Look, I be cap'n here!" Russell shouted. "That be where we be goin'!" They all grudgingly went back to their posts, following orders. Russell sighed, not having such a good time anymore. But he knew it would pick up once they got out from under the military's shadow. "What be the nearest port?" Russell asked, at length. The chartman looked at his map, laughing to himself.

"Happy Tree Town, sir." He said, mockingly. They all laughed at the name, thinking it funny. Even Russell chuckled a little.

"We'll swing by there 'fore heading out. Stock up on gunpowder, wood, and, most importantly, rum!" He laughed, changing course as the map said. Russell looked up at the sky, where the sun was dipping low to the horizon. When night fell, they lit the deck lamps and Russell yawned. "Well boys, I'm gonna be gettin' some sleep. Yar, you take the wheel." He said. He went downstairs, turning to say, "And thank ye, boys, fer bein' on the crew." before heading to the captain's quarters.

Russell tucked himself into bed, uttering one last, "Yar…" He closed his eyes, sleeping and dreaming sweet dreams. Suddenly he woke up, feeling hands grabbing at him. He swung with his hook instinctively, clawing a man in the face before his hands were forced behind him. He finally got his head on strait and realized it was none other than his own crew. "What be the meaning of this!?" He cried.

"This be a mutiny, CAP'N!" The chartman spat. They threw a shackle on his good ankle, which to his dismay was attached to a steel cage filled with a few cannon balls. They dragged him out, still in the middle of the night. They thrust his sword into his hands, before saying, "Just in case you want to die quicker." and throwing him and the cage overboard. They laughed as he yelled, plummeting into the depths.

Russell hit the water's surface, sinking quickly. Thankfully, being an otter, he could hold his breath for very long periods of time. He started struggling at the shackle on his ankle, but to no avail. The cage hit the bottom of the shallow water with a cloud of dust. Russell struggled with the cage, trying to open it, and failing that he returned to the brace on his ankle. He struggled in vain for several minutes, finally realizing that it wasn't going to budge.

Russell looked down at his sword and sighed, sending a cloud of bubbles up. He picked it up out of the sand it was lying in, and hoisted it over his head. He gritted his teeth, mustering all the will he had in him, and finally brought the blade downward, severing his leg underneath the knee. He screamed in agony as salt-water flooded the wound, and he whipped off his bandanna, using it to cut off circulation. He swam up to the surface, grabbing his sinking hat in the process.

He hit the surface and took a deep breath, looking at the horizon, and seeing the ship, HIS ship, sailing back the way they had just came from. Russell just stared at it, unbelieving. Suddenly, he just started laughing uncontrollably. His eye turned grey and he kept laughing, manically, thrashing the water with his hook. "Fine! Take it!" He shouted, laughing still. Suddenly he stopped, calming down. He sighed, unhappily, and started swimming for his ship.

After a few hours, he was fortunate enough to come across a rowboat at a private dock, on small island. Stealing that, he continued to go after them, vaguely hopeful. Hours turned into days, and he was about to give up all hope when he saw his ship, by itself, floating in the distance. "Yar!" He shouted, suddenly a scowl going across his face. He grabbed his swords and jumped into the water, using his tail to paddle him over to his ship.

He managed to climb up the side, his sword in his teeth, and using his arms and one peg to hobble up the rope ladder on the side. He got up there, already shouting despite having to balance on one "foot". But to his surprise, no one was aboard. "Yar? Anyone here?" He asked, cautiously. He hopped around on deck, stopping by the medical room to grab another peg-leg. Now able to walk, he searched his boat for the rest of his crew, only to find a few traces of blood smears and nothing more. Even the advanced portions of his boat have been stripped, leaving it an ordinary sailing vessel.

After painstakingly changing course, he started on his way back towards Happy Tree Town, hopefully to pick up a new crew. A little more than a day later, he came across the small town, and docked at its port. He wobbled off of his deck, much to the amazement of the citizens of the town. He found a barrel and stood atop it, shouting as to be heard.

"Listen up, you landlubbers!" He yelled, jokingly, "I be lookin' fer a new crew, and this be the place to sign up fer a life of adventure on the 'igh seas!" He smiled, seeing a small crowd gathering around him. "So who among ya be willin' to join up with me crew?" The animals all exchanged confused glances, and the smile dripped slowly off of Russell's face. "Anyone?" He asked.

"And do what, exactly?" An anteater asked him. "This whole area's ocean isn't hardly worth exploring. There's not a lot of ships sailing out there."

"What do ye mean?" He asked, impatiently. In the flurry of response, Russell learned of the world he had stumbled into. In particular, of the curse, and of the inability to escape, even by sea. "But, that be impossible!" he protested. The other citizens differed with him, though. "Fine, if ye don't want to join Russell's crew, then don't! I'll just be havin' to go elsewhere for a while."

"Look, buddy…" A handless beaver piped in, "It's not that we don't want to, it's just that there's well, not much to pirate out there! Nothing that won't get you killed, anyway."

Russell ignored him, and hopped back onboard. "I'll be back, landlubbers!" He called, still not buying it. He waved them goodbye, before setting off.

"I give him two days." Handy said, jokingly.

"I give him a few hours." Sniffles countered.

Russell, meanwhile, continued sailing. He kept sailing and sailing, seeing absolutely nothing that seemed to be on any map he could find. He scratched his head with his hook, not understanding. He climbed to the top mast, balancing expertly on his peg leg and pulled out his spyglass, trying to make heads or tails of where he was.

Suddenly he felt a drop of water hit him. He looked up, with a questioning, "Yar?" seeing a storm suddenly brew above him. He shook his head, and rubbed his eye, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. It wasn't coming down hard, so he just ignored it and continued searching. A bolt of lighting struck downwards upon him, however, attracted towards the metal scope. He screamed and twitched, electrocuted, and when he finally stopped he was blackened and sizzling from the strike.

He let out a cough of black smoke and fell from the mast, everything going black. He felt like he was struck by lightning again, only this time directly. He felt himself sizzling before he woke up in a cold-sweat, back in his ship's medical room. "What the… devil?" He asked, thinking it all a dream. He laughed to himself, frightened by the horrifying realness of the pain. He walked back on deck to see himself docked right back in Happy Tree Town. He gasped, seeing the scorch-marks his body left when it hit the deck.

Russell downtroddenly walked down the plank onto his dock, seeing a huge hole battered into the hull of his ship. He almost cried, seeing it. "Told ya." Said the anteater again. His moment of triumph was cut off, seeing the look on the pirate's face.

"Ye be right… There were no ships, nothing. I guess me pirating days be over…" He said, unhappily. Sniffles looked down, sad for him.

"Well, I suppose there might still be SOME sunken treasure out there, somewhere… Plus we could always use a fisherman." He said, rethinking. Russell looked up, suddenly cheered. "But you won't be going anywhere on THAT crate." He said, pointing at Russell's ship. The otter sighed, knowing he was right.

"I can't bear to see me ship go to waste…" He said, sadly.

"Well, you still need a place to live, right? We could help you get it on land and build a house for you out of it." Sniffles offered.

"Yar? Really? You landlubbers would really do that fer me?" He asked, surprised. Sniffles nodded, and the two shook left hands.

"Welcome to the community, erm…" Sniffles started, not remembering his name.

"Russell. Me name's Russell." He said, happily.

One crane rental, and a good amount of wood and nails later, Russell's ship had been hoisted into a tree, and securely stationed there. Handy and Russell, proud of their craftsmanship, finalized the work by putting his mailbox in. The pirate sighed, happily. "Sorry you had to settle down against your will here." Handy said.

"What ye be talkin' about? A pirate's heart beats in these ribs, Handy." The otter said. Handy couldn't help but laugh. Sure, Russell thought, he may be more domestic now, but in his heart he'd always be a pirate. And nothing would ever change that in him. So he'd keep wearing that hat, and his other pirate gear. He earned enough money from fishing to even buy another ship, and a few small boats to go along with it. The deaths he suffered were painful, sure, but he liked his job. He did miss all the booze, though. At least, he figured, if he lost any more parts they'd come back after he died.

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(Notes: I think I made Russell's story a bit more cheerful than the other two so far. At least, his wasn't nearly as sad as Flippy's or Flaky's. I always liked Russell, and while I was writing this story I had the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack playing :D )


	4. Cuddles

HTF Origins: Cuddles

Written by Flaky Ciel

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"A boy who dreams of freedom, who's binds are cut in the depths of hell."

The little yellow rabbit jumped around excitedly in the back seat, looking from one window to the next as they drove on. Cuddles didn't particularly care where they were going, but he was excited to be going somewhere new. "Hey, Mom!" The thirteen-year-old shouted. "What was that place we were taking vacation again?"

"Happy Tree Town. For the hundredth time." She said, a little irritated by Cuddles's behavior. Cuddles sat down.

"Feh. Sounds a little boring to me." He said. "How come we're going there?"

"Because your father and I really need a break from the city." She said, sighing.

"Oh yeah." He said, remembering. His Dad, driving, just ignored the whole conversation.

Cuddles crossed his arms. His parents were both workaholics, he knew. But he didn't particularly care. All it meant to him was that they spent that much less time keeping an eye on him, essentially giving him free reign of the house and his neighborhood, which suited his adventurous urges quite well. Though, it still bothered him that their family was always so stressed out, and almost never got along. His dad had been hollering at him before they left to stop wearing those "stupid bunny slippers." But he liked them too much to listen, and his dad got sick of yelling eventually. They were the most comfortable thing he owned, and they were kind of a rebellious statement on their wearer's part.

They pulled over and started driving along the side road, towards the sign that designated it the road to Happy Tree Town. Cuddles kept vigil over the passing scenery, until finally the little town came into view. He was actually pretty thrilled with how different it was to most of the other towns he'd seen. The buildings were all natural-looking, usually taking the form of trees and other naturally occurring objects.

His parents, though, immediately started picking it apart. "It's bigger than I expected." His Dad complained. A few other comments followed as they pulled around, looking for a hotel. They drove for several minutes, without luck at all. Finally, they stopped to ask a stranger. "Excuse me." The adult rabbit asked as he pulled up. "I was wondering if you knew the closest hotel near here?"

The resident looked at him, strangely. "Well, sir, if I were you I wouldn't be looking for any hotel. Are you new here?" Cuddles's Dad nodded. "Well, you should go down to the realtor's and find a nice house. They're pretty cheap here, along with everything else."

"No, I don't think you understand. We're not staying, we're only here on vacation." He corrected, impatiently.

"Well, my sincerest apologies and pity. But I'm afraid your vacation is going to turn into an eternal nightmare. No one leaves Happy Tree Forest. Once you get here, you're staying."

Cuddles's Dad sighed and rolled up the window, turning the car completely around. "Honey, where are you going?" She asked.

"We're leaving. We'll just stop by some other backwater shithole, since that's where you want to go so much." He snapped, stressed out. She just crossed her arms and let him have his way, and he sped off towards the way he came.

Cuddles sighed, upset. He just stared out the window as they kept driving, and soon passed the same sign they saw going in. However, the awkward silence inside the car only got more uncomfortable when they all one-by-one realized that they were on a different road than before. They drove and argued over where they were for hours, making several U-turns, pit stops, and trying several different roads, none of which were the right one.

Finally his dad pulled over, infuriated. Cuddles hopped out of the van, since they had pulled over at a rest stop. His mom just stayed in the car, while his dad stormed into the bathroom to cool off. Cuddles was left free to wander around, unsupervised as usual. He shrugged it off and decided to have a look around, since he had more than enough time on his hands, and the car ride was as boring as anything he could think of.

He started wandering aimlessly, climbing trees to look around and wallowing through the high grasses of the area. Eventually, he spotted something that caught his eye from a tree branch. He jumped down and ran over to the sparkle, curiously. He moved away the grass and dirt, finding a strange, long-haired golden statue. He picked it up, grinning with excitement. He couldn't believe his luck!

He looked over his treasure gleefully, finding it to have a horrific expression. It didn't matter to him though, since it just made it cooler looking. He spun around to show his parents, but a sudden noise stopped him dead in his tracks. The hair on the rabbit's head and spine stood strait up as he heard some kind of rattling noise. He spun around to see what the problem was and came face-to-face with about a dozen snakes.

They all lunged at the terrified boy, biting him repeatedly and causing him to scream out in pain and surprise, flinging his newfound treasure away from him in the chaos. A few agonizing moments later Cuddles was just lying on the ground, filled to the brim with venom. He saw the hazy outline of his mother scrambling to him, before he slowly passed out and everything went black. In the darkness it felt like his veins were on fire, like he was burning from the inside out from the venom. He tried screaming out but nothing seemed to come out of his throat. It felt like hours until he woke up, sweating, in a hospital bed.

He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be alive. He examined his body, finding no bite marks or injuries of any kind at all. A nurse walked in, seeing him wake up from the next room's window. "Oh good, you're awake. You can leave any time you'd like." She said, happily.

"S-so you guys got all the poison out? That's it?" He asked, suspiciously. The nurse hesitated, realizing something.

"Maybe I should get the doctor to explain this all to you…" She said, slinking out of the room. Soon a grey-haired old bear walked in, looking worried.

"This may be a shock to you, but you had died before coming here." He said, calmly. Cuddles just raised an eyebrow, mesmerized. The doctor sighed and resumed explaining.

Cuddles learned the shocking truth about the nature of the town. No one was living there when the first people stumbled across it. It was a complete town with no inhabitants, in a state of disrepair. Even the hospital was built before anyone knew about Happy Tree Town. When people started moving there, they realized they were trapped in the world surrounding the town, with seemingly no way to escape.

They had to live in the town, and started fixing it up. But the place was cursed, and all manners of bad luck existed all the time, often being fatal. But every time someone died they were painfully reincarnated in the hospital. Soon other towns were formed in distant places, and whatever building was used to care for the sick or wounded would be the place of reincarnation, and if none were available nearby they'd merely reappear at Happy Tree Town.

But, to their amazement, the place had a seemingly active government, always hidden from the view of the public. When people did their jobs, even their random odd-jobs, a check would appear in the mail and keep them from becoming destitute. They'd even get mysterious trucks of supplies that restock the stores behind the scenes, and keep the community thriving. Of course, the citizens themselves could earn a living doing similar tasks, such as manning the trucks or running the stores, but the community continued to move and thrive regardless, somehow.

Cuddles indeed was shocked, and stumbled out of the hospital after they told him where his parents settled down, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe it, but whatever was going on obviously wasn't a trick. He had felt the reincarnation process already. He kept wandering, dazed, not knowing where exactly to go. He stumbled into the street, not seeing the car coming. It swerved just as he looked up, and it crashed into a nearby tree.

"Oh my God!" Cuddles yelled, running up to the totaled vehicle. "Are you okay!?" He asked, reaching the driver's side door. The person inside tumbled out of the car, eyes spinning but otherwise unharmed. The blue moose stood up and shook his head, his eyes bobbling around idly.

"Whoah!" He yelled, shaking it off. "I almost hit ya there, buddy!" He exclaimed.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" He said, still flustered. The moose waved his hand, nonchalantly.

"Hey, you know what they say. No harm, no… erm… Well, you know what I mean. No big deal, right?"

"But what about your car?" He asked, looking at the wreck.

"No big deal. I'll get it fixed. Nothing like that's very expensive 'round here anyway. Oh, almost forgot! The name's Lumpy!" He said, extending his hand.

"I'm Cuddles." He said, shaking his hand.

"That's a right funny name." Lumpy noted, jokingly.

"Hey, Lumpy's not any better!" Cuddles fired back. "Besides, I am rather cuddly, heheheh." He said, also joking. Lumpy nodded, happily.

"That's true, by lookin' at you. So that means we're officially good buddies!" The blue moose said. Cuddles laughed, happy to have a new friend.

"If you say so big guy. Hey, how long have you been living here..?" Cuddles asked, remembering his plight.

"Uh… let's see…" Lumpy said aloud, counting his fingers. "About…….. three months!"

"So… have you like… died..?" He asked.

"Oh, several times already." Lumpy stated. "You never get used to it. It's unpleasant to be… uh… un-deaded. Worse than dyin' in the first place if you ask me! Well, depending on what kind of death you're talkin' about, huhuhuh. So you should try to avoid being killed if you can."

"Th-thanks, Lumpy." Cuddles said, a little sad. "Well, I'd better go find my parents…"

"Hey! I could give ya a ride!" Lumpy offered. The moose turned towards his car, only to see the wreck. "… Wait a minute…" Lumpy said, thinking. Cuddles chuckled at the dimwit and walked off, looking at the streets and trying to find his parents' new house. He finally saw his dad's van in one of the driveways.

He bolted towards the door, opening it and seeing the shocked and relieved face of his mother as she snatched him up and almost killed him again with a bearhug. "Cuddles! Oh my God! They weren't lying! You did come back!" She said, sobbing. Cuddles, blue in the face, only patted his mom's back, comfortingly.

"I don't believe this…" His dad said, a little stunned. "There has to be a trick… there HAS to be some kind of explanation… This place can't be cursed, those things don't exist…"

"Dad…" Cuddles said, his mom letting him go. "This is real. Everyone here knows what they're talking about. I've felt it."

"Don't you start on me too!" He said, still happy his son was back but just too bewildered to act accordingly.

"Dad!" Cuddles yelled. "I'm telling you! This is real! You saw it, how we couldn't leave. There's no other way to explain this!"

"Both of you stop it!" His mom yelled. Everyone stopped immediately. "SOMETHING is going on here! That we can't help!" Cuddles' dad looked down at the check on the table, unmarked, unsigned, but still legal. It showed up in the mail with no return address. He sighed, defeated.

For the weeks following, Cuddles and Lumpy often met up after school, which, to Cuddles' delight, wasn't a daily thing. Lumpy was an adult, technically, but his simple mind was more than compatible with a child's. Cuddles did learn soon, however, that Lumpy's carelessness and sheer stupidity tended to have a negative effect on those around him. Including Cuddles. But since no damage was ever permanent in that world, it was hard to stay mad at the big lug.

Cuddles' parents didn't fare nearly as well in those weeks. Both of them died in a car crash and were reborn days later, his dad left with a sense of confusion and dismay, and his mom was left with acute paranoia. The final straw was hit when Lumpy accidentally killed Cuddles on the swingset.

As they drove home, picking their son up from the hospital, nothing was said. They got home and went to bed, since it was almost four in the morning at the time. The next day Cuddles got up and practically skipped to the door. "See you later mom! I'm off to school!" He was stopped as she grabbed one of his ears.

"Cuddles, we have to talk." She said, sternly yet timidly. "You're not going outside until we find out what's going on…"

"What!?" Cuddles yelled, his explorative nature getting the better of him. "That's not fair!" He protested.

"Cuddles! I'm your mother! I don't want to see you hurt again… So this is final!" She said.

"You're mother's right. You're not going anywhere." His dad joined in.

"Even if I DID get hurt it's not like it'd stay that way!" He said.

"Well if what these people say is true, you have all the time in the world. Hell, apparently we don't even age anymore!" His dad scoffed, angrily.

Cuddles continued to protest, "There's no way to avoid it though! If I cower here, I'll get hurt and killed eventually, and if I go out there the same thing's bound to happen! This is TOTALLY unfair!"

"Well as long as you're our son, and you live under THIS roof, you're staying here!" His dad said. His mother retreated to the other room, agitated. Cuddles crossed his arms, indignantly.

Cuddles thought for a moment, taking in an idea that he had been bouncing around in his head for a while, but then he had an actual occasion to implement it. "Fine, you're right. If I live here, I have to listen to you." He admitted. "But I read up on this: In Happy Tree Forest, there IS no legal age for you to move out. Anyone can live alone, any time." His dad's face softened, seeing where this was going. "So you know what? I'm moving out!" Cuddles exclaimed, grinning.

"You're doing no such thing!" His dad responded. "You can't live by yourself! You're 13!!"

"You can't legally keep me here!" Cuddles argued. "I checked up on this at school! So if you guys won't let me explore, or have fun, or even go outside, I'm outta here!"

"You know what? FINE!" His dad said, sitting down, flustered. Cuddles' eyes sparkled as he happily went up to his room, gathering all his important belongings, and bolted. His mom looked at his dad, horrified. "He'll be back before you know it…" His dad said.

Cuddles scampered about town, trying to get all his ducks in a row. School could wait, he figured. He was practically giddy with freedom, his fondest dreams come true. The ability to what he wanted, when he wanted. But first he needed a roof over his head. He thought back to what his dad and mom did when they were talking about the new house. "A loan!" He exclaimed. Within minutes he had found a bank, and waltzed right in.

Much to his surprise, Lumpy was behind the counter. "Hey buddy!" He exclaimed. "What brings you here?"

"You work at the bank?" Cuddles asked. "I thought you were a crosswalk guy."

"No, that was last week. I switch jobs a lot, huhuhuh. Everyone does! Gotta keep tryin' somethin' new! So what can I help ya with buddy?"

"Oh, right. Well, I need a loan so I can get a house." Cuddles said. Lumpy nodded seemingly not finding anything wrong with it.

"Okay… just gotta type this stuff in and…. Okay!" Lumpy said.

Two days later, Cuddles was staring at his new home, happy as could be. Sure he was living in a world of agony and pain, but at least he was a free man now. The house he managed to nab was a fairly large, hallowed out tree with the leaves still attached. He grinned happily, as he and Lumpy took boxes back and forth between the truck until everything was all moved in. Lumpy nodded, content, "Mhmm!"

"Thanks, Lumpy!" Cuddles proclaimed.

Months passed, and it eventually became apparent that Cuddles was never moving back in. But when his parents saw that he was actually holding his own, the grudgingly let him keep his independence, not having any legal means to get him back home. Cuddles, who couldn't be happier, occupied his new life with his friend Lumpy, working off his admittedly impressive loan, and the occasional visit to school.

In the months that followed, Cuddles made even more friends. The first was a bewildered beaver named Toothy, who moved there with his dad. Cuddles happily showed him the ropes of the new world, and Toothy surprisingly took to his new life fairly fast, despite the fact that Cuddles routinely accused him of being a "baby". Before long, the two were best friends.

The other person to wind up in Cuddles' list of friends was Giggles, a chipmunk who got lost with her mother and accidentally wound up trapped in Happy Tree Town. The two were almost instantly smitten with each other and became fast friends to boot. Though, they were both 13, and their romantic entanglements rarely ever expanded past puppy love. But still, they claimed the other one as their significant other, and their feelings would only get stronger and stronger as time wore on.

Cuddles happily took to his new lifestyle. The price of freedom would turn out to be fairly great, however, in the form of death and general misery. But, he could still satisfy his urge to explore and adventure, as well as the bit of mischief here and there. He also proclaimed himself the official "guide for newbies", and took it upon himself to show new people how things worked in Happy Tree Forest, whenever he got the chance. In all, he brought a much-needed breath of optimism to a land of hell.

--

Notes: Sorry for the lack of activity for such a long time. But I finally got this chapter done . And I'm also sorry that the character stories aren't in chronological order, but it's not too confusing I hope.


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